While the post-pandemic road to recovery for the food and beverage industry surely will be a long one, there are hopeful signs. More than 50 restaurants, bars, bakeries and ghost kitchens have made their debuts or opened second locations in metro Atlanta since the beginning of the year.
Here is a look at some of the spots that opened their doors during the first quarter of 2021.
Intown Atlanta
Baffi. This west Midtown restaurant, whose name translates to “mustache” in Italian, comes from celebrity chef Jonathan Waxman and Executive Chef Andrew Cacioppo, both formerly of the now-shuttered Brezza Cucina at Ponce City Market. Dishes on the menu include wood-seared shrimp salad with winter greens, spicy aioli and focaccia; cast-iron sunburst trout with braised greens and Meyer lemon salsa; and Waxman’s JW roasted chicken. Also, check out the restaurant’s newly opened Baffi Provisions market, which sells prepared foods to go, beer and wine, and dry goods, including pastas made in-house.
976 Brady Ave. SW, Atlanta. 404-724-9700, baffiatlanta.com
Bar Vegan and Dinkies. Pinky Cole has created something of a vegan food empire with her Slutty Vegan food trucks and three brick-and-mortar locations. She branched out this year with Bar Vegan at Ponce City Market, offering vegan bar food, like cauliflower wings and salads, alongside “experience cocktails,” like the Foreign Fruit Punch, served in a smoking volcano. Along for the ride is Derrick Hayes of Big Dave’s Cheesesteaks, who opened his Dinkies kiosk inside Bar Vegan, selling plant-based cheesesteaks and Tater Tots.
675 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. sluttyveganatl.com
More new Intown restaurants and bars to try:
The Betty, St. Julep and Willow Bar. 374 East Paces Ferry Road, Atlanta. thesylvanhotel.com/
Candler Rail Brewery. 1660 DeKalb Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-464-5035, candlerrailbrewery.com/
El Vinedo Local. 730 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 404-596-8239, elviñedolocal.com
Eleven TLC. 675 Ponce de Leon Ave. NE, Atlanta. eleventlc.com
Farm Birds. 3365 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta. 404-816-0603, farmbirdsatl.com
Highland Bistro. 701 Highland Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-228-1216
LowCountry Steak. 1010 Peachtree St., Atlanta. 770-213-0830, lowcountry-restaurants.com/midtown-atlanta
Neighborhood Wraps. 1187 Wylie St SE., Atlanta. 678-630-7274, neighborhoodwraps.com
Peach Cobbler Cafe. 2221 Peachtree Road NW, Atlanta. 404-351-0450, peachcobblercafe.com
Queso Shop. 2127 Liddell Drive, Atlanta. 770-891-7480, thequesotruck.com
Round Trip Brewing Co. 1279 Seaboard Industrial Blvd., Atlanta. 404-963-1252, roundtripbrewing.com
Screamin’ Weenies. 1271 Glenwood Ave SE, Atlanta. 470-428-2034, banshee-atl.com
Sea Salt Seafood Lounge. 1044 Greenwood Ave. NE, Atlanta. 404-709-2125, seasaltatl.com
Storico Vino. 3065 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta. 404-806-0050, storico.com/vino
Toast on Lenox. 2770 Lenox Road, Atlanta. 404-745-4549, toastonlenoxatl.com
Credit: Handout
Credit: Handout
North Fulton County
Banana Leaf Thai + Bar. Awut Pengpis, better known as Chef Woody, and Supakorn “Jobi” Thanasongtrakul offer a menu of familiar Thai meat and poultry dishes, as well as some vegan offerings. But, the focus of its four specialty plates is seafood, including pla sam rod, with crispy fried snapper and red bell and bird’s eye chile peppers in a sweet and sour sauce over jasmine rice. The restaurant also recently debuted a full bar that includes frozen cocktails.
227 Sandy Springs Place NE, Sandy Springs. 404-418-8156, bananaleafatl.com
The Ginger Room. Angela Avery and Karl Walbrook, the couple behind the popular ginger drinks business Ginger Yums, offer all things ginger at their new Alpharetta venture, including ginger teas, coffees and Ginger Yums juices. The Ginger Room also serves British high tea, complete with a tea tower featuring finger sandwiches, scones with house-made clotted cream and preserves, and desserts, including macarons and Bakewell tarts.
61 Roswell Road, Alpharetta. 678-399-9964, the-gingerroom.com
More new north Fulton County restaurants to try:
Bloom Doughnuts. 15260 Hopewell Road, Milton. bloomgeneral.com
Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Kitchen. 2335 Mansell Road, Alpharetta. order.guysflavortownkitchen.com
Rakkan Ramen. 9700 Medlock Bridge Road, Johns Creek. 770-837-3529, rakkanramen.com/locations/johns-creek
Rena’s Italian Fishery and Grill. 240 S. Main St., Alpharetta. 770-790-4040, renasifg.com
Snooze an a.m. Eatery. 4600 Roswell Road, Atlanta. 470-571-3880, snoozeeatery.com
Texican Tex-Mex Barbecue. 659 Atlanta St., Roswell. 470-282-1614, texicanbarbecue.com
Cobb County
Chef Smokeys. Mauro Cruz started Chef Smokey ATL last year as a pandemic pop-up, slinging birria tacos in an Austell parking lot. He joined forces with Carlos Bickers to open Chef Smokeys in the space previously occupied by Bickers’ Isabella’s Pizza and Wings. In addition to birria tacos, quesadillas and fries, the menu features pizzas, burgers and wings, as well as a variety of apps and sides.
2805 Veterans Memorial Highway, Austell. instagram.com/chefsmokeyatl
More new restaurants to try in Cobb County:
Fat Tuesday. 800 Battery Ave. SE, Atlanta. 770-672-0049, fattuesday.com
Not As Famous Cookie Co. 1080 Windy Hill Road SE, Smyrna. 678-293-5588, notasfamous.com
The Orient. 3050 Windy Hill Road SE, Atlanta. 770-612-2727, theorientatlanta.com
DeKalb County
Drumz N’ Flatz. Stacey Arthur and John T. Arthur III, who also own Stone Mountain catering business Jerk Fusion Cafe, opened Drumz N’ Flatz — a nod to the nicknames for the drumette and wingette parts of a chicken wing — earlier this month. The couple wanted to offer a healthy alternative for wings lovers, with a menu offering more than 20 kinds of baked wings, as well as sandwiches, soups, salads and a handful of plant-based options.
5370 Stone Mountain Highway, Stone Mountain. 770-558-6934, drumznflatz.com
Hiro Ramen and Tea Bar. 1363 Clairmont Road, Decatur. 404-228-5697, hiroramenteabar.com
Gwinnett County
Philanthropy Bar and Grill. In addition to offering a menu of pub classics (fish and chips, fried chicken sandwiches, burgers, wings), Philanthropy stays true to its name and donates a portion of the proceeds from each customer’s bill to local charities, including Emonie’s Closet and the American Legion.
2715 Loganville Highway SW, Loganville. 770-339-2572, philanthropygrill.com
More new restaurants to try in Gwinnett County:
Anjoo BBQ. 525 Peachtree Industrial Blvd., Suwanee. 678-288-9595, anjoobarbq.com
Cultivation Brewing. 650 Langford Drive, Norcross. cultivation-brew-co.myshopify.com
Credit: Wendell Brock
Credit: Wendell Brock
College Park and Jonesboro
Johnny’s Chicken and Waffles. Singer-songwriter Ne-Yo, along with his wife, Crystal Smith, and reality television star Karlie Redd, are behind this all-day breakfast spot. In addition to build-your-own chicken and waffles, look for cheddar drop biscuits, apple or peach hot skillet cobbler and the Saints & Sinners brioche French toast log.
3725 Main St., College Park. 404-748-4244, johnnyschickenandwaffles.com
Spicy Hill. Brothers Desrick and Alrick Smith opened Spicy Hill, a reference to their mother’s birthplace in Jamaica, in January. The menu allows them to put their own twists on the Jamaican food of their childhood, with dishes including jerk pasta, spring rolls stuffed with ackee fruit and saltfish and brunch items like a jerk chicken and pineapple-infused waffle.
1544 Tara Road, Jonesboro. 678-489-8412, spicyhillrestaurant.com
Established Atlanta restaurants that opened new locations:
26 Thai Kitchen and Bar. 925 Battery Ave. SE, Atlanta. 678-401-6415, 26thai.com/welcome-battery/
ASW Distillery. 900 Battery Ave. SE, Atlanta. 603-553-1599, asw-distillery-at-the-battery-atlanta.square.site/
Beto’s Tacos. 4825 Sugarloaf Pkwy, Lawrenceville. 770-559-5469, betostacos.com/
The General Muir. 6405 Blue Stone Road, Sandy Springs. 404-255-3000, thegeneralmuir.com/
Hai Authentic Chinese. 5530 Windward Pkwy, Alpharetta. 678-580-2877, haieat.com/
Hobnob Neighborhood Tavern. 245 18th St., Atlanta. 404-343-2800, hobnobatlanta.com/
Kathleen’s Catch. 3436 Clairmont Road, Brookhaven. 678-705-3761, kathleenscatch.com/
Local Green Atlanta. 800 Forrest St. NW, Atlanta. localgreenatlanta.com/
My Fair Sweets. 110 North Avondale Road, Avondale Estates. 678-974-8169, myfairsweets.com/
Plant-Based Pizzeria. 8540 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs. 470-365-2994, plantbasedpizzeria.net/
Scoville Hot Chicken. 3420 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta. scovillechicken.com/
Sean’s Candler Park. 1394 McLendon Ave., Atlanta. 404-748-1457, seanscandlerpark.com/
Tabla. 3005 Peachtree Road, Atlanta. tablaatlanta.com/
Read more stories like this by liking Atlanta Restaurant Scene on Facebook, following @ATLDiningNews on Twitter and @ajcdining on Instagram.
About the Author
